The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, today (May 8) in Tokyo met with Japanese political and finance officials to forge stronger bilateral links.

He started the day by meeting with the Chairman of the Japan-Hong Kong Business Cooperation Committee and Vice Chairman of Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), Mr Katsunori Nagayasu. Mr Chan thanked the Committee for its effort over the years in promoting the economic and trade exchanges between the two places. He encouraged Japanese businesses to make good use of Hong Kong's unique advantages as a "super-connector" to enter the markets of Mainland China and Southeast Asia.

Mr Chan then attended a luncheon with a group of Japan Parliament members belonging to the Japan-Hong Kong Parliamentarian League after meeting with its Chairman, Mr Masahiko Komura. Both sides expressed the hope that Hong Kong and Japan would continue to expand their ties on all fronts.

In the evening, after paying a courtesy call on the Chinese Ambassador to Japan, Mr Cheng Yonghua, Mr Chan attended a gathering with Hong Kong people working or studying in Tokyo and updated them on Hong Kong's latest opportunities.

Mr Chan arrived in Tokyo yesterday (May 7) for the second stop of his official visit to Japan. Before travelling to Tokyo, he was in Yokohama for the 50th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank, and met with a number of financial officials attending the meeting.

Tomorrow (May 9), he will pay a courtesy call on State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Nobuo Kishi and pay visits to Japanese innovation and technology (I&T) companies to exchange views on how Japan and Hong Kong can co-operate further on the I&T and creative industry fronts.